Facebook

Marine Parade Radio Control Modelers Club

Today

Today, this track is almost 6 years old. Although quite a bit of bitumen had been worned out from the tar surface, recent active members at the track had told me that they still have very good traction with their 40 degree tires.

Early 2000

Amidst the frenzy over Y2K, we were enjoying the use of our new track. It has a 60m straight segment which is flanked on both ends by large sweepers, the right side sweeper being the largest one.

Late 1990s

The East Coast Campsite track was ready. The contract cost of the construction was SGD$155,000.00. Singapore Pools sponsored SGD$100k while the rest came from a fundraising Golf event with lots of help from the then Chairman of the Marine Parade Community Club Management Committee, Mr. Tiam Lock, GOH. Mr. GOH was also the Chairman of the Keppel Chapter of the Lions Club and he garner support from his Lions Club members to raise funds for a Boys Home and the track.

Update 19 March 2017 2036hrs Mr. Ong Hie Kie confirmed that the track was built in 1998.

Mid 1990s

By this time, the Marine Parade Community Club premise was due to a major upgrading exercise. It was also at this time that Mr ONG was the newly installed Chairman. A request was made to the People's Association for a suitable location to built a proper track.

The folks at the People's Association were very supportive and they lease us some land at the East Coast Campsite and while we were waiting for the paperwork, we were allowed to use the tarmac parade square area at the Association's HQ in Kallang for our regular races. We had lots of fun running 1/8th scale IC races there. The only chore we had was the laying of the track in the morning and keeping the track at the end of the race day.

First half of 1990s

With the closure of the McDonald's track, racing activities got back into the heartlands, where makeshift areas were used; car parks, mall halls, roof tops, etc. By the mid 1990s, the Marine Parade Community Centre building was due for expansion. A small but useable area was marked out for a tarmac track. Its size suited the 1/12th scale electric cars and the 1/10th scale cars at that time; 235mm IC GPs - and 235mm Serpent dominated the track.

Early 1980s

I only started my activities in 1986, so most of the information here are hearsay and please read it with a pinch of salt.

Singapore organised our first ever FEMCA event in the early 1980s (1984 I think) for 1/8th Scale Internal Combustion (I.C.) cars at the McDonald's track. Rody Roem attended this event, but the finals were rained out and based on the Heats, a local racer won the event. I don't have his full name, but most of his good friends calls him by his nickname: Ah Put - he was using his Serpent Quattro.

This track was affectionately called the McDonald's track because of it proximity to the McDonald's outlet at the East Coast Park Recreation Centre. But in actual fact, it was the kind contribution of the management of the East Coast Park Recreation Centre that built up this track. In the evenings, by 6:00pm an operator lease the track from the Centre to operate 12V operated Kid Cars. I could still remember that modellers would continue playing even as the operator pushes his Kid Cars onto the track and we would finally stop when one of the cars smash into one of this Kid Cars.

The charges at that time was SGD$10 per day. Just as you might have guess, the track management got their hands full with local modellers who refuse to pay up. So it was destined to doom, however the saving grace in the early days were the crowd our racing pulls in to the Centre. However, we all know that tracks are not cheap to maintain and by the early 1990s the Centre's management decided to close it down.

I remember racing my SG Vito Orazi and later my RC500 at this track. In those days, the Serpent Quattro and the RC500 were the winning cars. We also had a lot of fun racing 1/12th Electric on-road here, I had my most enjoyable time with my AYK 86J. It was really a sad day when the area was leased out to a Kiddy Ride Operator who installed a mini Viking Ship ride on top of the track.

Update 19 March 2017 2032hrs from Mdm Jennifer Yeo, the official formation of the club was November 1980.